Dust begins to clear, full extent of Shiigeru impact now clear

2013-03-26 12:13By CCP Falcon

Luminaire – After three days of intense atmospheric decontamination, the full devastation at the impact site where the Shiigeru impacted Caldari Prime can now be seen.

From high orbit, the devastation is spread over an area that totals some 1.2 million square kilometers at the southern end of the Kaalakiota Peaks. Several distinct craters can be glimpsed, bathed in the amber glow of burning titanium diborite and molten rock, with trails of smoke stretching for hundreds of kilometers across the landscape.

As temperatures begin to subside, the first mechanized infantry from the Federal Marines has begun to advance on the crash site utilizing remotely operated hazardous environment MTACs. Reports and footage streaming back show masses of tangled wreckage, scattered debris and a number of areas where the impact has penetrated Caldari Prime deep enough to cause tectonic instability.

Dr. Kuelin Lears, a geologist contracted to Combined Harvest’s exploration and surveying division, commented to various media outlets that “the scale of ecological devastation is unprecedented; nothing in the immediate area has survived the impact other than cloned mercenaries, who were on the ground several hundred kilometers away. The sheer force of the Shiigeru’s impact has destabilized the crust of Caldari Prime in several places so badly that it can be seen from orbit.”

The Doctor seemed visibly shaken at the footage she was presented with during an interview with The Scope. After a detailed analysis live on air, she continued by stating that “this kind of damage is on a scale that we can neither study nor prepare for. Given the impact zone, which lies on fold mountains at the border of two tectonic plates, the site could continue to burn for decades. We must be thankful that only part of the Shiigeru entered the atmosphere, and that the most volatile components of the vessel, the reactor cores and engineering decks, were destroyed in orbit. Had they made it to the surface and detonated on impact, the result would no doubt have been an extinction level event for Caldari Prime.”

On the ground, the situation remains largely unchanged, although fighting has reduced to sporadic contacts between Gallente and Caldari forces as both sides appear to be focusing on assessing their losses. Analysis of contact reports from both parties suggests that the Provist occupation force maintains a shaky grasp on most districts.